Furya Reborn?
by Mourneloupe
Summary: When the planet is revived what will the reviver do?  Riddick has atoned for what the Necros did, now that balance has been restored where can Riddick find his own balance?


I do not own and Riddick-y goodness.

This is a Riddick Fanfic. That means it is mature, with lots of fighting and cursing and other lovely things.

I wrote this a while ago, but it's still interesting? I dunno, you guys have fun reading.

Katy.

* * *

With the fall of the Necromonger society, a collection of over a hundred thousand people were without a home right around the time that Richard B. Riddick took the throne as Necromonger Lord Marshall. For all of his dealings and his faults and all of his complaints of just wanting to be left alone, the Lord Marshall Riddick was by far the single greatest Lord Marshall to be on the throne. Within months nearly all of the reserve savings of the Necromonger Empire was distributed in atonement for the casualties and the horrors the previous lord marshalls created in the universe. The Necromongers became known as the "Night People" The Lord Marshall Riddick had the converts who wished to stay as Necros follow him to the planet in the Igneus System, the system on the total opposite of the Igneon System's sun where the famed triple max prison Crematoria once existed. Riddick made base and even a fully functional city and home for the abandoned Necromonger at the center was the now rejuvenated and redecorated Necropolis. The planet named Igneus U7 was barely touched by the sun and was a planet that had a perpetual twilight during the day and almost sheer total eclipse during the night. It's rotation was enough to give a full 12 hour day and most normal seasonal patterns. The Neos as Necromonger successors became known as were though not the best liked, forgiven for what they went through and were forced to do in the name of a faith not their own. The ways were lost, the half dead was destroyed and Lord Marshall Riddick wasted no time in sending vast amounts of help in the form of his still glorious armada to planets trying to rebuild and regroup.

Within three years the Neos were at top agricultural and economical peaks and were sending even more help and receiving even more penitence. The reign of the Necromonger was finally dispersed and forgotten. The Lord Marshall was known to accept any species, envoys, ambassadors and listen equally and justly to any claim presented and important. He was at most times of the day alone, he was rarely seen unless called for by his closest advisors, a woman named Imina Imam and her daughter, 7, named Ziza Imam. He was also closely knit to the elemental race and had a close consulter Aereon, an air elemental. The system of Igneus was dark and desolate before the Neo arrival. The trade routes were widened, opened happily and the products that came out of the dark and snowy planet of Igneus U7 were sought after by nearly everyone, the planet and it's system had been thought dead before the Neo's arrivals and Lord Marshall Riddick sought to create a true empire, one that deserved to survive and be acknowledged for good things.

What people didn't know was that the Lord Marshall did all of this, did it so well, so quickly and with such authority that no one could possibly guess what he was thinking next. The fact was that the Lord Marshall wanted to go hunting. Not hunting the beasts of his empires mountainous snow peaks, or mercenaries trying to cash in under his planet's system, which he had plenty of special squads out doing all the time, for it was know that the new and permanent Lord Marshall was a deathly frightening enemy of Mercs. No, what the Lord Marshall Riddick wanted to go hunting for was more than likely off planet, though like a now honored and remembered purifier of the previous Necromonger faith there were few necro converts that had at one time been Furyan. When they had stepped forward to the Lord Marshall Riddick upon his throne and all bared the hand print upon their chests, a total of seven Furyan converts there were, Riddick suddenly had a new plan forming in the back of his mind. Find the rest of the Furyan race, put out a universal notice to all star systems and all galaxies and suns for any Furyan survivors to come and live on Igneus U7 or just U7 for local star system visitors and traders. The only moon of the planet became a star ship port and military operations headquarters where specialized search and rescue squads could be easily deployed and returned without damage or having to face the below freezing upper atmosphere of U7, where instead of heating up greatly ships coming in at a bad angle would freeze instantly and all things inside of them as well. The Neos in the time of their restoration commissioned and had designed specialized layering for the outer hulls of their ships so that they could take off and come back with ease. However the search vessels were usually too big to even try and navigate a safe angle of penetration and the moon base was greatly appreciated.

Now, after almost 10 years of careful study and planning, of rebirth and growth, the Neo race is fruitful and well liked. The Lord Marshall is often invited to dinners and benefits. He is not by any means a social man and most never see him in person. Now his consummation of obsession with finding Furyan survivors, now that revenge has been sanctified and all faiths have been restored, he's ready to find the end to his destiny.

As Aereon often says to her ghostly Lord Marshall and trusted friend.

"The universe is balanced Riddick, now if only you could find a balance in yourself."

* * *

The ground came up to meet her with a sickening crunch in her left shoulder. A grunt of pain later and she was facing off once again, staring down the man that had duped her out of a pay day for the last time.

"Listen, you're a son of a bitch. I can often respect that in people, but a lying, cheating, scum bag of a master isn't something I like much." She snarled low, almost a whisper in the filthy air of the space docks.

The asshole chuckled, Renge his name was, a deep growling in his jowls that made her skin crawl slightly away from her bones. The shiv in her hand sparkled like clean steel; her teeth glowed in the fading light of the day.

"Little bitch, little Seras, you're my slave. I bought you fair and square eight years ago from your father, I trained you up, passed you around a few times and this is the thanks I get? Just because I promised a whole bunch a shit to ya back then, ain't gonna change the relationship we so lovingly cherish together now. You're nothin without me Seras. You're residual slime on the bottom of my ships' hull, so what if you can get the job done faster and easier than any of my guys here, they're all mostly new and they'll learn from you if they have to. You're my little hunting dog, my little cage match fighter. That's the way it's always been, that's the way it's gonna be forever. I just let you know, you're my best if it makes you feel better, I cherish you more than any of the other scum that works under me, you're just not paid like them see?"

He disarmed her with a blow to the head and she silently stepped into the dark of her cell on the ship, the only thing that could be seen of her was the silver eyes in a silently snarling face. The mercs were all watching with silent breath standing at the heading of the ship behind their new boss. They had seen her capabilities the night before, the sheer madness that overtook her when let loose by the master Renge and they all wondered with what else their boss kept the little hellion on a leash besides the collar that was literally on her neck most of the time she was seen in light.

"Now that the dog is packed up, the rest of you get this shit on board and let's get the hell outta here." Renge snapped to the watching men.

There was much activity and chaos precluding the take off from port. Seras sat slumped in the far corner of her cage. The collar at her neck was itchy, she hadn't bathed in three days due to lack of funds for Renge and the other guys he picked up and a place to stay in town. Her eyes hurt, the light of the previous day had been a bitch to deal with and this night had been welcome relief. Renge often stole her welder goggles from her. He was the one who after having paid for her from, yes it was true, her own father who was an even slimier asshole then her current master as far as she was concerned, took the then 4 year old girl Seras to the prison Slam where he was good friends with the guard. He kept her safe on that trip, taking it upon himself to dig up a crack pot doc and payin him with a pack of cigarettes of which she still couldn't remember the name, and set about putting her through the most traumatic and horrifyingly painful experience of her life. The surgical eyes shine. Renge had said she would be his Armilla, the beasts used as extra security in more of the high class prisons in the universe. She'd only ever seen one of them in person and it was two years after she got her animalistic eyes. At such a young age and no painkillers she had screamed herself mute for a month before Renge had punched her in the head and knocked her unconscious. Since that day, that one moment of keeping her safe from the twisted inmates of the Slam she had had no protection, other than if she were at gunpoint and chained to a wall or summat like that she figured. Renge was brutal, he trained her up alright, and beat her into comas usually, until she was perfect, he locked her away for days at a time, where when she was sure she would go mad in the silence, she would suddenly form a plan, get it done and escape and be gone for days until an unknown drive would bring her back, she figured out quickly that it was the collar he had put on her the first day they had met. With it on, she'd never be able to leave the bastard; she had three days tops to be gone until the burn would start the sulfion Ion gem in the collar, a rare and extremely illegal tracking stone made sure of that. She had the necklace of fine white scars to prove it.

"He's such an asshole..." She muttered in the dark. She had become known by the many guys that knew and worked for Renge's little merc ring as being an amazing escape artist from places seemingly inescapable. She could tie knots and pick locks better than any known man, and her strategic planning skills were flawless. She was a vicious thinker and most of the time, unreliable for those looking to be saved while they were on a job. She could care less. Seras reflected on her thoughts in the dark for so many years. Her silver eyes proof of her alienation of society. She was a murderer who hunted murderers for money, and that wasn't even true! She'd never been paid a day in her life.

The ship took out of port at excessive speeds, the crew Renge had collected for this job was rowdy and when fully armed very loud and braggish. Seras rolled her eyes at their conversations. Renge's ship had been around as long as she had. Her cell was her own, it was full to the brim with books she had stolen from various places, collective things, shivs, gun clips, and a battered old blanket she slept in and below her cell was the training room. Virtual reality on one side where she could kill as many as she wanted and a wide expanse of floor on the other padded underfoot for hand to hand combat. Seras was in the middle of a very pleasant dream when Renge banged open the door.

"Little Seras, you've got training SIM. Now" He walked away.

Seras growled and pulled off her over shirt, and pulled on her heavy fur and steel lined boots. The tips were worn out and scuffed up but the weight of them and the idea of shattering rib cages with one kick is what made her keep them, that and they were for the longest time too big for her feet. Now they were comfortable, secure and she had learned easily how to hide weapons where no one else could think of. Following the clattering footsteps of her master Seras slid down the rusted staircase onto the open floor. Renge attacked from out of nowhere and clipped her in the shoulder. Rolling to the left Seras was on her feet and running at him with a blood curdling snarl in her throat and a hidden shiv already gleaming in her dirt caked hands.

"You wanna go? Let's go."

She roared and ran up the side of the wall, spinning out of reach of Renge's arm she ducked, turned tot her left and stabbed upward. The fight was over before it began. Renge's arm was bloody and he stood with wide eyes as the dull thud of his own blade fell to the padded floor.

"So, you have gotten better. You would have ghosted any other guy easier than saying 'scuse me, just had to make sure-"

He muttered, wrapping his arm. Seras stood slowly facing away from him, having heard him speak to himself easily.

"You gonna kill me then?"

She grunted sliding the ghost knife back where she had stored it originally. Her chest rose and fell in calm breaths beneath her dirty once white tank top. Renge watched her openly and shook his head negative.

"Nah, I got plans for you little girl." He swung his uninjured arm around her shoulders and grinned toothily down at her.

Seras grumbled under her breath. She hated that she was so small sometimes. Most killers, well known in the universe at least, were tall, muscular and mean. She was mean that was all really. Her muscle wasn't in brute strength, it was lean, sinew, pure adrenaline rushes fueled her, and a freakishly high metabolism rate eased her down. Plus, she was god damned short. She stood a hairsbreadth above 5'2" and she was all the more deadly because of it. She may have not been able to crush someone under her weight of an astonishing 110 pounds, but 110 pounds of raw steel and most of the time insanity behind it was a force to be reckoned with. Seras learned fast, she observed and she made sure she knew what was happening at all times. She was a survivor and stubborn as all hell. She would defy you again and again until she couldn't move voluntarily or was forced still by bludgeoning, restraints, or unconsciousness.

"Where are we going then?" She asked once back sitting reclined in her cell. Renge sat across from her lighting a cigarette from his pocket. He threw the pack to her through the bars and she caught it without looking up, the lighter was in the pack.

"We're heading to the Igneus system. We've got a job under some trading company. No pay day, just a clean job."

"Keh, you're a fucking liar." She smiled humorlessly.

"The Igneus system is lorded over by that crazy ex merc killer Riddick. He still kills mercs, but now he's no longer the most wanted man in the universe. You probably are my dear."

Renge grinned at her. She glared at him from the shadows.

"You can have these back by the way."

He tossed her goggles into the cell. They landed on the floor and cracked down the center of one lens.

"Useless piece of shit…" She yelled tiredly.

He shrugged and made his way to the pilot, a shrew of a man named James who sniveled and whined when confronted by Seras on board the small ship. Seras smiled at both memories and the faint smell of piss coming from the guy after both.

"Where we at Jimmy?" Renge clapped the weak man on the back.

"We're on due course, cryo sleep in 08:00 hours."

"Good man, good man. Alright everyone lets hit the hay."

* * *

"_They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo sleep, all but the primitive side; the animal side. No wonder I'm still awake'_

The night was long and silent. Cryo was always hard for Seras, a part of her, deep down, she knew must come from her true bloodline never let hr sleep restfully. Long week trips were agonizing being locked in a cage in the middle of space with just the sounds of the snoring pigs around you. She shook herself in the gloom, as if to rid herself of dust and decay. The 8 hours were almost up; thank god it was only that long. Soon she'd be back on the ground, albeit a snow frozen and perpetually dark ground, but ground none the less. An ice planet ruled over by the famed Riddick, killer of killers. They said that he had eyes like hers. Eye the glowed in the blackness that shone bright just before they hit a sweet spot. Seras had heard the rumors. Renge had told him herself when she first descended into the pits of Slam for her eye shine. He told her the story of Riddick's adventures with ease how the great man had eyes just like she would have. Back then it had almost been mesmerizing to be told that you, just a plain little girl with a stuffed cat under one arm and a Band-Aid on one elbow that she would one day be equal if not greater then the most wanted man alive.

She got the eyes, she healed and she fought and she believed the story from Renge for almost a month. Then he threw her into a fray to be bait and that was the last time any light shone upon man for Seras ever again. She lost herself to madness that night, a shine in her eyes that settled in and never really left.

"This is one long ass night." She sighed and rolled over. Maybe a bit of shut eye would do her some good. Igneus U7. It was the last and furthest planet in the Igneus system, as well as the coldest, the darkest, the most remote.

'The perfect place to disappear' she thought

With dreams of escape in her head, Seras slept and the ship piloted onwards to the Shined Eyes Emperor.

* * *

Ringing is what woke him. It was a piercing shrill sound that aggravated the hell outta him too. With a fluid roll he was out of bed and heading for the lab upstairs.

"Damn kid, making so much racket so early in the day."

He peered out a window. It was snowing lightly this morning and the dark had just begun to recede to that familiar twilight he loved so much now. Walking the halls of the long estate on the cliffs in a pair of sweatpants was normal for this type of morning, but not when he had only just gotten home after a 72 day search only three hours prior to the alarm. The search had yielded good results and now three more families, one of full Furyan and one with intermarriage in the second generation now lived on the Igneus Planet. Through his research alone it had been found out that while Furya Riddick's home planet had had sunlight, most of the time was in a darkening twilight, like the dusk of Earth and Healion Systems. The families had had no problem relocating, having been more nomadic than anything in fear of retribution of having escaped the first time. Furyans were stubborn and it showed in their every day lives. However, he thought as he walked the cold stone floor to a set of double white doors now was just not the time to think about the new finds.

"Damn it Ziza." He growled throwing the doors open to the laboratory.

"Uncle! I'm sorry, the alarm only went off for a second I silenced it immediately. I know I know don't give me that look!" She spoke in rush, her long thickly curled hair fell in waves down her back. She was tall and slender, with smooth chocolate skin and a set of wide hazel eyes. She was the daughter of a holy man, now she was under the protection of the Lord Marshall, or himself in this case.

"What are you doing in here anyway?" He sniffed and was met with an unthinkable horror of a smell.

"Uhm, heh, it was your birthday present." She muttered.

"My wha-? You're working at dawn on a present for me?" He gave her a stern look that screamed incredulity.

"It's true! Now, now get out!" She shooed him out the door.

He stood dazed for a moment while the sounds of banging and bustling in the room behind him went on.

_'I'm getting soft in my old age.' _

Quick as a flash he whipped a shiv into the wall beside him.

"Nah, fuck that idea." He muttered on his way back to bed.

Three and a half hours later, which in Riddick's opinion was the right time to be awoken, Riddick woke fast, dressed and made his way into his private kitchens where he found Ziza's mother Imina sitting at the table with the new Furyan girl he'd found with one of the families. If he recalled correctly and he did, the girl was second generation Furyan named Nadera Monyu. An old Furyan line apparently that was succeeded by Nadera and her three older brothers. Their parents the true survivors of the Furyan massacres died only a few years ago, in complications of a transport vessel on a main shipping lane. Her brothers were strong and all Furyan male force, the oldest and for Riddick the easiest to persuade in coming to his home was named Ayus Monyu and the middle child, male, was named Benjamin. Their ages according to the reports were 23, 19, and 17. Nadera was the youngest.

"Good morning, Lord Marshall."

Imina nodded her head and went to pour him a cup of tea. He sat opposite the young girl who with eyes the color of a sunny sky looked away and nodded her head mutely.

"Good morning Nadera." He indicated she should speak.

Lordly manners were never becoming of him and he was as polite as he usually was, straight to the point and blunt enough to leave marks sometimes.

"Good morning My Lord." She blushed even harder when he wouldn't stop looking at her.

"Are you alright around me?" He asked as Imina wrapped him on the head with her serving spoon. He shot her a look that she rebuffed skillfully and he took his cup without complaint.

"Nadera, child, you can go if you wish. The Lord Marshall would not make you uncomfortable on purpose, isn't that right Riddick?"

She gave the flat stare a try and Riddick balked first. With a stiff nod to Nadera, the girl sprang, bowed and hurriedly left the room.

"You could have been vaguer."

Imina sighed sitting at the table in Nadera's place.

"In what ways old friend?" He chuckled into the steam rising about his face.

He inwardly was blessing the tea that Imina was famed for making. His one pleasure if he had ever stopped to think of what they could have been in life was tea. Even when he was holed up in all of those prisons, he always drank tea. He had even at one point, if he recalled correctly and he did, kill a man with his tea cup. However, thinking of that act, only led to thoughts of _her_ and he wasn't awake enough to think of Kira just yet today.

"What are the plans for today?"

Imina relaxed casually sipping tea along with him. At times in her life she had wondered just how she had ended up a widow and if she had to call it something, good friend with the most dangerous man alive. She wondered sometimes how her daughter became fatherless in one night and gained an uncle in another. How ten years had flown by and sometimes it still felt as if they were sitting in the necropolis kitchen on the counter together her just finishing a good cry and him offering her another cup of tea to stop the nightmares. Ten years and there were no more nightmares. Imina could feel that heavy stone lift, feel her husband the brother Riddick never had, and smile down upon her from the after life. Times where it ended up just her and Riddick alone in the kitchen, drinking tea were times that she cherished, times she remembered and times where she dazed along in her mind secretly giggling about how the great killer was an addict for Earl Grey.

"Nothing, I'm going to the dungeons. The Armillas need to be let out. We'll rest at the Estate for a few more days. Pop into Necropolis, speak to Vaako, slap him around if I have to and then I'm off again with any new tips Vaako may provide me." Riddick always spoke so matter of factly it awed Imina sometimes.

"You and Ziza can stay at the Estate and wait for me to return or you can come with me. I personally like the second choice." He grumbled as he looked into his empty cup.

"Let me." Imina stood and took his cup from him.

The morning was gone Riddick realized as he sat at the table. The Armillas were brute beasts, half panther, half armadillo and one hell of a genetically altered evolution by some crazy doctor. He'd rescued them from the Crematoria prison some years ago. There were 6 in total, four females and two males. The bony plating of skin they had was allergic to sunlight, Riddick kept them in a special network of underground tunnels and caverns there under the estate and the surrounding mountains where they could do as they pleased. They were all smitten with him anyway. He had told Imina when he first arrived back at the estate with them in tow, their conditions and that he could get through to them, because as she so liked to mock now and again.

"It's an animal thing."

It was true though, Riddick however, was always left reassuring his manhood whenever he had a run in with Imina in one of her moods, the woman was scarier than crash landings in a pit of hell, but in the time they had known one another, she had been a rich flow of information and he was ever the greedy student.

"We'll leave in two days, until then make sure the kid doesn't blow the house up." He stood and laid a hand on her shoulder. Imina smiled at him and handed him an already prepared thermos to go down into the caves with.

"Always thinking ahead, Imi" He grinned at her as he walked out casually throwing up a hand in farewell to her.

The trek down into the caverns was one only he usually ever made and he'd done it so often as he could, that the treacherous path was like second nature now. The jagged edges and loose earth was easy to spot in the pitch black of the great mountain hall. Growling and tussling could be heard as Riddick drew nearer the animals. Their breakfast had been a horse, at least 18 hands high from the look of the clean thigh bone lying near one of the nests.

"Wattaya up to boys?" Riddick barked out, the sound echoing all around.

Howls and snarls were heard as all six of the beasts came tearing up out of the dark at him. They glowed under his shine like pearl giants and he smiled as they skidded to a halt on claws sharper and stronger than diamonds. He'd made it a point to collect all of their shed claws. They were at least ten inches long when the Armillas shed them and he sharpened and filed them on raw diamond ore and turned them into a collection of shivs and weapons he was more comfortable with using. In fact the weapons he carried on him nowadays were made out of Armilla claws.

The beasts all tugged and snapped around him, he felt more at home with these cats in the dark than anywhere else usually, though the entire planet was in more words than one, his.

"What's up boys? Where's Sue?" He looked around for his favorite little female before spotting her hunched over her bedding, growling deep in her chest. The boys all stayed back as Riddick approached her. Her great hide was fluctuating a deep blood red, to a steely ash grey. She was either in a hell of a lot of pain or extremely enraged.

"Sue." Riddick called softly. The beast turned her head a fraction of an inch and bellowed at him. The ones behind him all cowered in the shadows or in their own nests.

"Sue, relax now. What's wrong girl." He whispered to her comfortingly, or as comforting as Riddick could be.

The great cat swung around and fell to her belly, which he could now see clearly. He laughed and looked at the boys.

"Which one knocked her up then."

The biggest of the beasts came to Riddick's side. Thought there were only two boys they still fought tooth and nail when it came to the ladies apparently.

"Magnus wins again."

He chuckled. This was the second female to get pregnant by Magnus, Riddick's favorite among the two boys. The other male Aodhan was thin, lean and vicious he'd get his chance one day, but Magnus was older and stronger of the two. Their growing years didn't finish until they were 50 or 60 years old and the Armillas were known to live almost four hundred years. Fascinating species when you got down to it.

"C'mon then, I'll let you out into the catacombs. Have a run while Sue here lets one rip."

He chuckled and the beasts all trotted along after and around him to where the great stone doors stood. Riddick punched a pad on the wall and the great doors opened. Beyond was a total silencing darkness that anyone but Riddick would turn and run the other way. The catacombs were vast and through the years when Riddick was feeling particularly mean he would take mercs he'd snagged in his shipping lanes and let 'em loose in the labyrinth for a few days, then he'd let the cats have a run. He'd never actually run the entire lengths of the catacomb systems. The Armillas would warn him if there was a light breach or another form of breach.

"Go on now." He said slapping Magnus on the hide as Sue let out another roar behind them.

When the cats were all out of sight into the tunnels, Riddick closed the great doors and walked over to Sue who was panting with her head shoved between her legs.

"That's gotta suck sweetheart."

He walked over and stroked the cat's shoulders and the eye ridges on her face; she purred momentarily forgetting the pain gratefully.

"That's my girl. Bring strong ones through for me."

He stroked her once more and left her to the quiet of the now deserted hall.

Imina was sitting in the library when Riddick found her again. There was no one really around in the Estate. Riddick had made sure of it. Serving him was apart of the Necropolis in the city. He was rarely there but it was a form of his home, at least it was a symbol of his home to his people. His people, it still made him shake his head sometimes.

_'you keep what you kill.'_

He'd thought it would be over when that bastard finally got his. When Kira saved him again, and this time, for good he suspected, his attitude since waking with the mark upon his chest had gone from bad to good. It wasn't that he was still an asshole, because he was, and he was still a killer, only now he saw things, observed life and not just parts of it that were vital to an escape or one more night of survival. He saw Ziza grow up, something he knew Imam would never see and for some reason that made him feel badly. Strange when you thought about it, but it must have been his more Human side, he had noticed that cryo was a little more bearable since that day ten years ago inside the necropolis. The ending of the Lord Marshall and the Necromonger faith was something everyone appreciated and welcomed and Riddick just happened to fall into the place of most intelligent leader for choice. He wasn't complaining too much, he was free now; he was alone when he wanted to be and he was tolerable of lots of people now. Things it seemed were looking up for the great killer, with exception of course the Furyan Searches. As he was thinking before, there were three families now some almost fourth generation already. It was incredible what forty years could do to someone. According to his other people, Riddick was now almost 40 years old, but to normal aging humans he was only the equivalency of a 20 something year old. The aging process for Furyan energy was something not many people understood or explained very well, but from what scraps of information he could gather out of the survivors he now had in the other two wings of the Estate Riddick would live for another almost two - possibly even three hundred years. It was staggering to think about, but he was content knowing if the whole ruling an empire thing crashed down around him, he could always go back to being a merc hunter and a wanted man. It was more fun that way he thought. The biggest change he'd had to learn to live with over the years as Lord Marshall was that not every day was as fast as a summer rainstorm. There were days like right there in the library when Imina and him would sit and just read for hours, with nothing else to possibly do.

"Imina, have you settled everyone into their rooms." Riddick asked as he pulled himself from his thoughts finally.

"Yes, though unpacking seemed unwise. We are leaving the day after tomorrow no?" She tilted her head in question without looking up at him.

"That is true, they'll have to be introduced into the city. Call a dinner tonight. We'll sit and really talk to them now. They must all have trades or talents that can become a new living."

He spoke more to himself than to Imina who was smiling at him in humor without him knowing.

"That is fine Riddick. I have The Art of War if you'd like to read with me awhile."

"Not today, Sue is giving birth. She's as big as a house, must have developed in rapid fire while we were gone."

"Oh my goodness. More of your fluffy kittens to play with I see." Imina laughed.

"Well these aren't going to be the abused vicious cats that we have now. They'll be pretty normal I expect." He nodded and stood to leave.

"Is it alright if Ziza comes with us to Necropolis. She wishes to see Aereon." Imina watched him expectantly.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He disappeared out the side doors.

* * *

Warning radar went off in time to sneak by defenses of U7 for the shrew of a man. Seras had already been awake for an hour and half when the alarm went off. She had snarled in discomfort when the outer shields for the pilots' windows went up and a burst of sunlight hit her before they plowed down into the almost permanent snow storms of U7. Her goggles were useless, but the planet was in twilight, she'd survive and get a pair of real lenses when she finally got off this fucking heap. The commands coming through the COM were like gnats in everyone's ears and they touched down swiftly and easily in a hangar on the edge of the main city. The planet had one gigantic metropolis named Neo Centre. It was where the Lord Marshall's Necropolis still stood. There were plenty of smaller cities and towns, villages and trade routes all over the surface. Igneus U7 despite the conditions was an ideal place to settle down it seemed. Riddick was a good ruler and had gotten trade trains from almost all systems. The amount of strange wildlife and vegetation that adapted to the freezing conditions was unique and highly sought after by the newly introduced 'neighbors' of U7. Seras while free for those three days before they did the job and took off had looked up some history on the new system. She had had a hunch that Renge was in trouble again and they'd need to lie low for while and if what he had said to her was true and they were here to hide down a bit and work a clean paying no attention seeking job, it would mean they'd be renting a place to pitch up and she'd get to shower! A warm comfortable feeling at the thought of being clean made Seras very co-operable when they finally unchained her and let her go. She didn't take off like she usually did whenever they touched ground and be gone for two or three days. She'd always turn up in time for informational meetings on the job and then once she talked to Renge for a moment and he fought her in the sparring rooms she'd be gone again another three days. Most of the time then she'd come back with the pay day in hand and snarl and throw a shit fit when she'd have to hand it over to Renge. The guys didn't know the details and weren't interested in finding out how she knew more about the mark then they as a group did. She was fast, silent, deadly and they knew not to fuck with her. 

The small under cutter touched down in a docking bay on the outskirts of the main trade stations of Neo Centre. Renge hoped it'd be close enough, yet far enough away to avoid attention and suspicion while they looked for another crew to possibly take out with, or hell, maybe even get a lucky shot off on the Lord Marshall enemy of mercs everywhere.

"Get the supplies to the place we're staying at. I want to have a meeting at sunset, you've got four hours to bullshit around, no attention seeking or I'll fucking kill you all." Renge snarled throwing his large musty overcoat on himself and hiding his guns in his various places. He walked back up the ramp to the main cockpit. Kneeling down on one knee he looked at Seras, who glared at him through the darkness of the ship.

"This is your kind of place little bitch, be back at sunset for that meeting then you can have your three days you got me?" He scowled at her.

"Fine…sir."

She added the sir in as an after thought, and saw that he seemed pleased by it. A song of sweet freedom was making its way into her mind. She hummed as she picked up her ratty old long coat, it fell to her knees and had gunshot holes and singes of near escapes in it. Renge stood and unlocked the cage door. Seras bolted before he could say another thing, it wasn't until she was an hour gone that he felt in his pockets and cursed his little bitch of a slave. She'd taken all of his money as she flew past.

Seras in the mean time was walking the shadier side of town, the whole planet was wrapped in the most peculiar twilight she'd ever encountered, it wasn't nearly as cold as she thought it would have been and people were bustling along from here and there. She could see ex converts of the old faith, seemingly much happier.

_'They must think having to live on this kind of planet is what they deserve.' _Seras thought.

She popped into a bar for a pint and to overhear anything useful. This planet was even stranger than she'd imagined. The people here in this bar, weren't thugs and mercs like every other bar she'd ever stepped into. This was a normal place, normal folk. The conversations around her were of normal everyday dealings. They consisted of traders and merchants, store owners, and family patriarchs. Seras's mind was reeling from it as she stepped back outside, just in time to crash solidly with another body. Snarling she was on alert, but was shocked to find the other person of the crash splayed out on the floor.

"Sorry 'bou tha'" She felt embarrassed and helped the other person up.

"It's quite alright dear. I wasn't watching where I was going. No worries." It was an older woman.

Seras looked and saw that she was with another younger woman, close to her own age. Seras nodded and hid her shiv behind her back so as not to alarm them. She'd whipped it out, but once again she had to get used to not being on the menu for lunch every waking second on this planet. It was so...normal. Feeling as if she'd already used that word to describe it she thought and couldn't possibly come up with a better description. Sighing more to herself, she itched beneath her collar a moment and scowled to feel new cuts. With a stiff nod to the two women she walked around them down the street, unaware of the two women staring at her with open mouths their eyes screaming familiarity.

The street she was on was quite boring now that she'd had that bump in at the pub. She found a few kids who gave her information of the traders that Renge had set up hearth and home with and she wandered in search of a lens place. Her surprise was once again pulled to the surface as she asked a young man where the nearest one was available and its address she realized put it right in the center of the city. One hell of a trek for her, but even more interesting, was that the shop was in the great entrance hall of the Lord Marshall's Necropolis.

"Oh, that makes sense. The Lord Marshall is the only one who really needs lenses; he's got the eyes like me." She hadn't realized she was talking to herself standing on the underground train platform. People were watching her with open curiosity. She blinked and practically hissed them away from her.

"That's not very nice." Said a warm male voice.

Seras turned and met soft green eyes.

"Who're you?" She demanded. The guy was in uniform armor and was armed. She was tensing slowly under her jacket.

"No one really, you were just talking to yourself and that draws attention and then you realistically hissed those people away. It was amusing." He smiled and it crinkled his eyes nicely.

"So? They don't need to be staring at me." She scowled and turned away walking up the steps into the center of the city. The train had gone exceedingly quick.

The soldier she knew at once was following her. He was good at it, she had almost missed his presence, but she was better and in the middle of the crowd she was gone and she knew he wasn't following anymore. The lens place was incredible and Seras found herself buying not goggles like she usually had, but sleek, black steel frames and three sets of different colors. She was like a kid in a candy store and the woman at the counter was unnaturally nice and eager to help. She came away with a set of deep rose red, and emerald green, for snow blindness and a pair of darkest black that a normal person wouldn't be able to see out of. The frames she popped the green ones into were adjustable to fit her head under her heavy dreadlocked hair, of course it was only dreadlocked from being so filthy and knotted and she knew deep down that there was blood in her hair somewhere still. The woman didn't seem repulsed by her appearance and it seemed lack of a place to live and Seras was more comfortable in the store than she'd been in a while. She put the frames on and they wrapped like goggles to her face and fit snugly. She was impressed with the design of them.

"Thanks, here." She said paying the lady.

"There you are little shadow."

Seras stiffened and turned to look at the soldier who had followed her out of the tunnels.

"What the hell do you want?" She snarled fitting the goggles on easier.

"Nothin, I just wanted to know where you got those eyes of yours. I only ever saw another like em." He grinned at her. Seras snarled at him.

"I don't care about the Lord Marshall and his eyes. These are mine, and you can kiss my ass. Stop following me." She was right up against his chest and he was surprised at how fast she had moved.

"Sorry miss, I didn't realize you were so testy. If it makes a difference my name is Ahnu Mienet." He bowed with a flourish that had the woman at the counter laughing shrilly at him and Seras's scowl deepened.

"Hi, fine, thanks bye." She walked out of the store faster than he could straighten up from his bow.

The only time that Seras had really had any contact besides the bums Renge brought in for work was when she was staring into the eyes of the next big score. So for the next two days Seras was totally unprepared for the little shadow named Ahnu Mienet that seemed it his duty to permanently attach himself to her schedule. Renge need not know about the little crazy soldier and Seras though extremely irritated with him had no reason to kill him and also knew that it would be bad for her if she did. So she padded around town, taking in hints, whispers, any information that could help her get Renge convinced to stop this little "clean job vacation" and get back into space.

Stepping off the curb, Seras kept a watchful eye on her surroundings. She hadn't been to central town since the run in at the lens shop and she didn't want any attention now. Feeling much more fresh and clean since her shower that morning, she was more confident even still when her clothes were hole riddled and patched more times than she actually wore them around. People, women and children, men moving to and from work, shoppers, errand boys, delivery men, three piece suits, robes, holy men all looked at her. Centre City was no different from any other city she'd ever stopped in. All the people thought the same thing, what was such a young girl, filthy and alone, doing wandering the streets. Seras didn't have an answer and didn't think she ever would.

"Fuck 'em. They don't need to know about me." She muttered under her breath with a frown.

"It's considered mad when one talks to oneself y'know."

Seras, before she could stop herself had whirled with a shiv to Ahnu's throat. Her eyes were glazed beneath her goggles, Ahnu couldn't see them.

"Woah, take it easy now." He said quietly.

He was looking around with a darkening look upon his face. People had stopped with wide eyes and whispers at the pair.

"Sorry. Just don't do that again." She hissed and disappeared into the crowd before he could say anything else.

* * *

"Sir, Commander Ahnu is here at your request." 

Riddick nodded his had, not looking up from the paperwork that sat piling upon his desk.

"Sir." Ahnu stepped into the dark office. The Lord Marshall looked up at him with glittering eyes.

"Mienet. How's the spying going?" Riddick questioned.

"I've made rocky contact with a young girl. She's from that ship you asked me to look into. She's real young sir, can't be older 'n 18 maybe younger. She's -" He cut off his sentence early

Riddick looked up at his first in command. The kid had been a convert when Riddick had taken over. A strong fighter, an even stronger spirit. He'd felt too guilty and lost to return to his old faith and Riddick had trained him up a bit and had taken him under his wing for a price of lifetime loyalty.

"What is it Ahnu." Riddick was interested now.

When the report had come in of a small shitty little under cutter using a frequency alarm to land on his planet without going through customs he had been interested and a little openly hostile. He was a murderer first a self instated emperor second. He'd put Ahnu in charge and all of his men in that unit on the streets. He wanted his eyes and ears on this ship and its crew. If they were hiding Mercs he'd have them arrested and he'd be the one enjoying a good hunt after dinner. Being back in Centre City for the instatement of the new Furyan members of his society was already grating on his very low pain tolerant nerves and he was sick of being there after only two days.

"The girl, sir, she's not here by choice. I can tell. She's a killer, extremely skilled; I'd say your level maybe even higher. She's got some sort of metal collar on her neck. I think she may be a slave, y'know from the old days in the Derague Systems. That was a fiasco for anyone who cares to remember it."

"I see. Well then talk to her."

"She had a shiv sir. It looked homemade. She pulled it to my throat, I didn't even see her move and she was on alert already. She's skittish and she doesn't seem to like company of any sort I noticed as well. I've made her my top priority while my men have a look at her crew. So far nothing has been determined. She's the only one who seems to be without work. The ship according to my new reports settled in an outskirt docking bay. The crew, with the leader whose name is unknown at this time, though I should have it for you by late afternoon today as well, is working for an old Gram. A clean and clear trader into skins and fresh produce, he owns a checked out and fully legit operating ring. I've spoken to him personally and he is prepared to speak to you if the need arises."

"I see." Riddick was calculating in his mind. "Continue Commander."

"It's the girl who's giving them away. She goes out into the open, doesn't own a clean pair of clothes, if you can call em clothes. She's armed at all times; she's been here for three days now and knows the city like the back of her hand. She's gotta be somethin, if she's a slave then she's useful, if she's not, well she is pretty cute to look at.-"

"Indeed, I can imagine Mienet. Is there anything else?" Riddick considered all that was said to him. This girl sounded like him, only slight variations. Maybe he'd go out and take a stroll and find her.

"Lord Marshall, there's one more thing you should know, about the girl sir. Well, two things. Her name is Seras, no surname, and sir; she's got the shine in her eyes. The first day I made contact, she was in the lens shop at the Necropolis. She had a rusty shattered pair of welding goggles. She bought three sets of lenses and new goggles, with reinforced frames, the newest there, the ones you yourself use sir."

"How do you know she has the shine?" Riddick was definitely going to meet this girl.

"I saw her eyes. She looked at me; I thought I would burn from the inside out from that look. She's a vicious little street rat and very amusing when riled." Ahnu grinned at their few encounters the first few days.

"Very well, I shall follow her myself tomorrow."

Anyone with the shine was obviously dangerous enough to have met the doc in Slam at one point. That kook was the only guy with the knowledge and balls to do the operation. A girl only 18 years old supposedly having it and buying precautions so familiarly she obviously wasn't a newcomer to crime.

"Shall I let Seras know you'll be stopping by?" Ahnu grinned as the two of them left the Lord Marshall's office to head to the private estate quarters of the Lord Marshall, his home at the center of Necropolis.

"Keep that tongue in your head. Leave her alone, this Seras. I will hunt her personally." Riddick's grin was feral. He hadn't had anything fun to look forward to in many months.

The next day Riddick awoke early. Twilight was just beginning to rise. Riddick did a few pull ups above his bed and tested out his more favored steps and reflexes. Ahnu's full report on the crew and the slave girl had come in and he was ready for a good hunt this day and night. Indeed he wouldn't kill this Seras. She so it seemed was an unwilling participator in the merc ring run by her master Renge. Stepping into his kitchen, he tucked all the information on the crew and it's boss and his pet into his pants pocket and made himself a cup of tea. Ten years ago he'd never have seen this for his future.

"The world's loss I suppose." He chuckled to himself.

This day was going to be interesting he could feel it deep in his very bones..

* * *

Seras ran as fast as humanly possible. The ship was in pieces, literally. The shitty little house they'd all been shacked up in for the past week was blown to nothing, vapor nothing more. Seras sprang from the ground and rammed her shiv into the brick side of the building; she flipped herself, with incredible arm strength up over he edge and onto the roof top. 

"Hello Seras."

Seras snarled and flipped out of range just in time to side step a strangely ornate looking shiv, with a thick bone handle. '_It looks heavy' _she thought subconsciously as she flashed a handle and slashed sideways. Blood spattered lightly, just a surface wound; she felt it in her wrist.

"That was fast for a little girl." He sounded so fucking cocky, she wanted to rip his mouth out.

"Shut up, who are you? Did you kill Renge?" She snarled.

"I killed a ring of mercenaries. They seemed to have been hiding out on my planet." He folded his arms across an amazingly tight broad chest.

Seras felt her blood freeze. _'My Planet' _This was, she just hit...

"Riddick." She whispered, finally looking up clearly at the tall man.

His build was strong, with a shaved head and a deep natural tan. He stood easily at 6'3", she was so short damn it. He had no goggles on, his trademark, it's why she'd been idiotic and attacked the fucking Lord Marshall. God! She was going to die, she knew it. She dropped the shiv in her hand and froze. She'd never been in this situation before. She could kill him, he may have been the most wanted man in the universe, but now that was her title.

"Lord Marshall."

"Well, you know my name easy enough it seems." He chuckled looking down at her. In his mind he was slightly shocked. She was slight, frail looking, she hadn't eaten in a long while, he could tell, yet her stamina was still as good as his, she must operate on no sustenance quite often.

"Seras. You can relax. I being myself know your situation. You are in no danger of execution from me."

He saw her flinch in anger and a growl fought its way out of her throat. When she looked up he was surprised to see rage in her face.

"I'm not worried about that damn you, you killed my master, an especially asshole-ish and braggish man with an affinity for my suffering. He's dead now, you twit and this collar is inscrolled. I'm going to die now anyway."

He stared at her with a quirked eyebrow and a strange expression in his eyes.

"That's interesting. Take a walk with me for the moment." He smirked as she glared up at him.

"You really are a young one, how old are you 16, 17? How long have you been a slave?"

Growling, Seras yanked away from his presence and stepped into the shadows faster than he could even react.

"I'm fucking 24, just because I'm short doesn't make me a child and I've been a 'watchdog'[term for fighter trained slaves since I was four." She was gone.

Riddick watched the spot where she had just been moments ago. Twenty four, but she looked so young, yet he could see the truth of the age in her. The term watchdog hadn't gone unnoticed by him. So she was a hunter trained from adolescence to make money for her owner. That was some life. Her eyes had glowed at him; they were more beautiful on her he thought, remembering long ago words from a vicious sneaking woman. Riddick made it a note to memorize her scent and face. Turning he looked back once and smirked with a nod. She was there in the shadows; he knew it though he could not see her.

"If you'd like, there is an open room under your name waiting in the centre. I expect to see you again."

He turned and walked away.

* * *

The night was falling fast and Seras was snarling as the sky once again opened up on her head. She raggedly stumbled through the alleys of her unfortunate new home since the Lord Marshall had destroyed her ship and crew. A sigh fell from her lips, the tenth in the last hour, as she clumped through the mud and garbage of the side streets. Her boots squelched inside and she grimaced at the state of what her feet would be in. A luminescence ahead of her drew her attention and she gratefully entered the small pub and the warmth of dry air. She found with slight surprise that there were plenty of people inside, she must have been really tired because she obviously had traveled uptown farther than she had wanted. The pub was no place for her, but the call of warmth and food kept her in the doorway, torn between interacting with a higher class than her or running back out into the torrential rain. 

"Sweetie? Are you ok? What're you doin' out in this storm?"

A soft face, a warm voice, Seras met the warm honey eyes of an older woman nearing her twilight years. She had soft flyaway grey hair and was wearing a serving apron. She looked at Seras with concern and the girl slunk back from it all, her instincts weren't cut out for this type of interaction no matter how tough she had acted before in her life.

"You got a place to stay honey? What happened you get turned out or sum thin?" The woman smiled at her in sympathy.

"N-No, I just got caught in the storm s'all." Seras figured she'd pretend as hard as she could that she was normal.

"Well My name is Mara and this is my place, you just go and sit down in the corner and I'll bring you somethin to eat."

"But I don't have -"

"Nonsense, you sit down now."

The woman Mara turned out to be the sweetest person Seras had met in a long time. She put Seras up for the night in the storage closets in the kitchen since she didn't have any rooms available, Seras thought that is was more than she could have asked for. Her clothes were replaced, if you could still call them clothes, and Mara had given her a warm blanket to wrap up in while she bustled about serving patrons and fixing Seras with some new clothes. Seras on her part smiled where it was needed and nodded when it was due. She found it easier to act correctly and soon she was smiling shyly for real, something she hadn't done in a long time as well. She seemed to be reacquainting herself with things long forgotten tonight. Sighing she turned and looked out the closed window in the kitchen the cook aptly named 'Cook' had fed her some thick tasting stew that had set her stomach to sweet hums of joy. He had then sat her on a bench and put her to work. Seras had realized that they thought she was a kid, 15 maybe 16 in age, and that she had no home. Instead of getting angry as she had done with the Riddick, for she had been upset deep down that he had thought her to be a child; she had smiled and let it go along easily. It made her feel more at ease and Mara's smile of sympathy and happiness at helping her was for some strange reason to Seras, worth the lie.

"Now, let's see here, I dried out your boots, you can keep those. They're handy they are I notice, I couldn't save that thing you were callin' a shirt so I found an old t-shirt of Martin's, my son. He's at school this time of year so he won't miss it." She smiled handing Seras a pile of clothes.

"I also swiped a pair of cargo shorts from his closet; they're black as I noticed you liked that color." Mara chuckled and bustled about the room.

"Miss Mara, I can't repay you for all this." Seras whispered her eyes never leaving the clothes in her lap.

"Well, as I said before, you never mind that. It's always a good thing to help someone else, does wonders for your karma and for theirs." She smiled at Seras and nodded in a matter of fact way.

Seras couldn't speak so she instead examined the clothes. The t-shirt was soft and worn in, it was old and on the front it had a ram's head in black graffiti style, above the horns it said in bold gold letters.

"The Strange' Seras said aloud.

"Hn? Oh yes, that's a musical group Martin is fond of, that shirt is very old, he used to run around in his wild preteen years singing their lewd songs. Very odd group they are." Mara smiled fondly of some memory only she could see. Seras nodded and watched the woman for a moment. In the entire time she had been in Mara's home she had not removed her goggles, and she was unsure of what she should do right then.

"If you don't want to take the goggles off, you don't have to." Mara said watching her face as if reading her thoughts.

"It's just...my eyes, they're a bit strange." She muttered quietly.

"It's no worries, I understand of course. You do what you feel comfortable doing." Mara smiled and shut the door to give Seras some privacy while she changed.

The days at Mara's became longer and longer with Seras staying there and eventually she realized she had been living and working there like a normal person. Mara never questioned her, she never asked where Seras had come from and she knew Seras kept her secrets to herself for a reason and for that Seras was grateful. Before she knew it Seras had been at the old pub Mara owned for almost a month and a half. In that time, she had become the unannounced bouncer and food runner of the place. People from all over came to Mara's Pub and Seras found she liked the normality of it all. Every morning she would wake, have a bath, and eat a light breakfast. She was so unused to eating on a normal schedule that it had actually upset her stomach the first few days when Mara had insisted she eat at least twice a day.

Seras found her skills still sharp as ever only because of the occasional scuffles she found herself breaking up before Mara could worry. The old woman for her part though Seras a great treasure and when a room opened up near Mara's own apartment she put Seras in there gratefully. Only recently had Seras collar begun to itch constantly. She could feel the burns against her skin and knew she would have a fresh set only this time, as worry begun to cloud her thoughts, as her strength began to slip away from her ever so slowly. She was beginning to feel tired and less coherent and Mara thought she was coming down with a cold or something like that. Seras didn't want to say anything about it though and when she was off from working in the kitchens with Cook she was out gathering information about how to remove the collar before she didn't have the strength to walk or…one day soon she could feel it, live.

In the time at Mara's Seras hadn't seen Riddick once. She hadn't felt any tails and she knew that Ahnu, that irritatingly friendly soldier wasn't following her. She doubted they even knew where she was. Deep down she felt something strange take hold of her. Disappointment was never a strong feeling for her, it didn't get the job done, or help her in a fight and she was unsure how to approach it all.

"Seras sweetie, get me a few glasses from the back, the bar is almost out."

"Sure Mara."

Seras hadn't realized she was standing in the kitchen doorway staring blankly in thought and she blushed at being so absentminded. It was common these days for her to be staring at nothing and Mara catching her with that old woman smile that said she knew all about it. Soon Seras figured she'd have to leave and find a place of her own, but Mara was comforting and her food was great.

Seras felt greedy not wanting to leave and give her room to a paying customer but whenever she brought it up to the woman Mara would smile and say

"don't worry about it all so much and just collect yourself."

* * *

:D 

Yay, this story was sitting around on the backburner for a long time, and I still don't like it, but I feel so guility not having written anything in so long. I hope you all like it. I'm in college now, so life is chaotic, but I find time here and there. I already started a second chapter for this story, and it probably won't be as long as this first one. Oh well though!

Cheers!


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